Villa Joseph Marie Sister Margaret Petcavage Inducted to Wall of Fame

On Saturday, September 12, Villa Joseph Marie High School inducted two new members into its Wall of Fame: Sister Margaret Petcavage, SSC, and former Science Department Chair, Marie Politowski. The evening included memorable reflections from the inductees themselves as well as from family, friends, and former colleagues. It was a wonderful celebration of these two remarkable women and the impact they had, and continue to have, on Villa Joseph Marie High School. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place, only a small gathering of the inductees' friends and family were able to attend in-person. However, many well-wishers joined the celebration remotely via a Zoom link, including the Sisters of St. Casimir from near and far including Argentina! Congratulations to Sister Margaret, SSC, and Marie Politowski as they officially join the Villa Joseph Marie Wall of Fame.

Sister Margaret Petcavage, accompanied by Sister Rita Marie Kerdock, drove to Pennsylvania for the induction. Sister Margaret Petcavage

Testimonial by Sister Janine Golubickis, SSC A young teen from Scranton, Pennsylvania, came to Villa Joseph Marie High School and studied and lived there in her high school years. There her inspiration grew to follow in the footsteps of Mother Maria Kaupas, who had purchased this land for an Eastern residence for her Sisters, and then founded this high school. She became Sister Margaret Petcavage, a Sister of St. Casimir, a teacher, and a principal. In her leadership role in the religious congregation, Sister Margaret Petcavage returned to the Villa, serving ably as a Board member from 1998 to 2008. Sister Margaret has loved Villa. As a historian, she is keenly interested in its buildings, people, and evolution. Sister knows stories about the early days and the development that has taken place there. We are enriched by what she shares about this and how Mother Maria lived, loved, and valued this hallowed space. Today Sister’s passion is for the beatification of Venerable Mother Maria whose person, holiness, and presence permeates all who walk the corridors of VJM. May Sister’s endeavors contribute to the attainment of that goal. Congratulations, Sister Margaret Petcavage, SSC! We rejoice with you as you are inducted into the Wall of Fame.

Testimonial by Sister Virginia Gapsis, SSC It isn't every Congregation that gets to have their foundress named a holy person. We, Sisters, are truly blessed that Mother Maria left her zone of comfort in Lithuania, and founded a Congregation of religious women in Scranton, PA, the Sisters of St. Casimir. Thousands of lives have been touched through Mother's dedication to the Lord. We are pleased and grateful that Sister Margaret has pursued the beatification/canonization process for the past 28 years of her life. In order to increase devotion to Mother Maria, monthly Masses have been held at the Motherhouse for the past 32 years. Sister searched out different priests and bishops for these Masses so that each priest, as celebrant, had come to know of Mother's heroic virtuous life and thus passed this knowledge and devotion on to their parishioners. In addition, we are proud that along with the Holy Spirit, Sister Margaret had successfully written a book, called a positio, which was sent to Rome and now preserves the heroic virtuous life of Mother Maria and the precious memories of 45 witnesses who actually knew Mother. This 704 page book, which took Sister three years to write, was presented to our Holy Father, St. John Paul II, by Francis Cardinal George. Upon receiving it, the pope said he loves to read this type of book. The book was approved by the Committee of Cardinals and thus Mother Maria was named Venerable Servant of God. Thank you, Sister Margaret, for your dedication to our Foundress and our Congregation. This is a great honor for Sister Margaret who always praises and supports her alma mater, Villa Joseph Marie.